Capitals Drop Shootout in South Philly

In a wild scene in south Philadelphia Tuesday night, the Caps and Flyers hooked up for a high-scoring affair that saw one star get a hat trick, one goaltender get yanked in the second period, two stars get a pair of markers and some very strange tallies in a 6-5 Washington overtime loss.

The Capitals seemed to be their own worst enemy during the contest by taking bad penalties, allowing three power-play goals and yet another one on a delayed penalty, not getting a less-than-stellar start from Semyon Varlamov, the team still earned a point in a tough building to play in and remained unbeaten in regulation after three games (2-0-1) before Daniel Briere scored with just 1:08 left in the extra session to give the hosts the victory.

Thanks to a decent relief job by Jose Theodore and the Caps' power-play finally coming to life in the third, goals just 1:14 apart gave the visitors a third-period lead before a fluky goal helped Philadelphia force overtime and the eventual game-winner.

On the plus side, Alexander Ovechkin added two more tallies for five goals on the young season, becoming just the third player in NHL history to score at least three points in each of his first three games of a season. Nicklas Backstrom also added a playmaker to extend his league lead in assists.

The Flyers came out of the gate in their home opener firing and controlled the first couple of minutes with some good chances.

Despite Philadelphia coach John Stevens' wish for his team not to take minors and allow the Capitals' dangerous power-play unit a chance to operate, the Capitals were handed three power plays in the first period, two of which were very avoidable. However, Washington, which had been prolific during their first two games with the extra man, couldn't get one past Ray Emery during the first 20 minutes.

Washington got the first man-advantage early, and it was one that nearly ended up with a Brooks Laich tally, but the Caps forward couldn't cash in on a nice feed in front of the cage. The Caps also gave up a prime opportunity to Scott Hartnell, who broke in between the point men and alone in on Varlamov - but the 'keeper was up to the save.

The Caps got an injury scare when Mike Green was hit by Ian Laperriere and crashed into the side boards, bringing back a scary memory when he was injured by Chris Pronger last season in Anaheim, but the defenseman stayed on the ice for his next shift.

Briere's ill-advised high stick to Green also earned the Caps their third power-play, but the team couldn't cash in and the two teams finished 20 minutes scoreless.

As tight as the first period was, the two teams traded chances and goals at a fast pace in the second frame, with two of the team's stars making a statement in a short amount of time and the Flyers' captain netted a hat trick.

Philadelphia got an early chance as Green took a cross-checking minor less than a minute into the second frame, and it took advantage as Mike Richards roofed a shot over Varlamov's extended glove hand from a sharp angle and the Flyers scored the first goal of the contest 1:37 into the second.

However, a bad line change by Philadelphia created a 2-on-1 with Backstrom and Ovechkin, with the Swede feeding the Russian for his fourth goal of the season just 1:07 after the Flyers took the lead with a shot that eluded Emery.

The Flyers' Darroll Powe then took a bad penalty in the Washington zone, but Philadelphia held despite some big shots from the point, then Chris Clark was whistled for an interference minor, which the Caps killed.

After the two teams traded penalties right after the Ovechkin tally and created a 4-on-4 situation, Kimmo Timonen then took advantage of another delayed penalty as he shot through a screened Varlamov to give Philadelphia the lead at the 4:33 mark of the second period.

However, once again, Ovechkin had an quick answer for the Flyers, as a bad pass by Pronger was intercepted by Backstrom, and breaking in alone on Emery, the star made no mistake and deposited a backhand in the cage for his fifth goal in eight periods exactly three minutes after Philadelphia took the lead.

Semin then gave Washington its first brief lead of the night, dancing with the puck through Brandon Coburn and then beating Emery with 7:34 left in the period, as the Capitals victimized the Flyers' revamped blueline again.

However, just over a minute later, Laich was whistled for interference in a scrum in front of the Flyers' cage for Philadelphia's fifth power play, and Richards blasted one from the top of the circle past Varlamov with 6:11 left.

Then, Varlamov badly misplayed a long shot on the next shift, and dropped a puck with Richard charging towards the net, and the veteran buried the loose puck for the hat trick just :18 later for a 4-3 Philadelphia lead and bringing the hats down from the Flyers' faithful.

That gaffe was enough to earn Varlamov the hook, as Theodore took over in net after the rookie allowed four goals on 14 shots in just over 14 minutes gone in the frame.

After the change, the scoring settled down and with the Flyers holding a 4-3 lead - helped by the six Washington minors in the period.

Theodore started the third with some nifty saves, and finally the Capitals were able to cash in on their fourth power-play of the night, as after Emery made some long saves, Ovechkin's drive went to Backstrom, who fed Semin, and the other Alexander got his second of the night by spinning and firing past Emery with 11:42 left in regulation.

Washington then went ahead just 1:14 later as Brendan Morrison knocked in a rebound of a Matt Bradley shot, as the off-season signing beat Hartnell to the net and giving the Caps a 5-4 edge after a review cleared the goal which came off the forward's skate.

Philadelphia got a chance to even the game with 5:54 left in the contest as Boyd Gordon was whistled for holding in the offensive zone, and another gaffe by a Capitals netminder as Theodore accidentally kicked in a puck that deflected off Tom Poti's leg and just over the line to even the score with 4:15 left in regulation.

While Washington was held shotless for a seven-minute stretch late, Semin drew a power play with :53.4 left as he split the defense and was hauled down.

The Caps couldn't score with the chance, but still earned at least a point for their trouble despite some weird goals and a poor performance by their penalty-killing unit.

While the Flyers played most of the extra session without a shot, the difference came as the puck landed in front of Briere at the crease, who lifted it over a lunging Theodore for the extra point for Philadelphia.

The Capitals now head home for a rematch of last year's first-round pleyoff series, as the Rangers make their first meaningful visit to Verizon Center since being eliminated from the postseason last spring. Washington plays four of five in their home building, and look to get a better performance with some tough teams on deck.